Production of Recombinant Cholera Toxin B Subunit in Nicotiana benthamiana Using GENEWARE® Tobacco Mosaic Virus Vector.

Here, we describe a method to produce a recombinant cholera toxin B subunit in Nicotiana benthamiana plants (CTBp) using the GENEWARE(®) tobacco mosaic virus vector system. Infectious transcripts of the vector RNA are generated in vitro and inoculated on N. benthamiana seedlings. After 11 days, CTBp is extracted in a simple tris buffer at room temperature. No protease inhibitor is required. The leaf homogenate is treated with mild heat and a pH shift to selectively precipitate host-derived proteins. CTBp is purified to >95 % homogeneity by two-step chromatography using immobilized metal affinity and ceramic hydroxyapatite resins. This procedure yields on average 400 mg of low-endotoxin CTBp from 1 kg of fresh leaf material.